Tag Archives: The Supremes

She’s no Hannah Montana anymore. Miley Cyrus has taken on a new character with an edge for her latest era, the first single release of which is “We Can’t Stop”. The party girl goes wild in the music video for her new song. It recently debuted at #11 on the Hot 100 and looks to go higher as it sits comfortably in the top 5 at iTunes. In honor of this achievement, I give you all the other top 5 hits in the history of the Hot 100 (since 1958) to feature the word “stop” in their title, excluding subtitles. Conveniently, there are eleven of them. So, don’t stop now; check them all out:

“I Can’t Stop Loving You”, Ray Charles (#1, 1962)
It was back in the late 1940’s that the legendary Charles began recording and first made the Hot 100 in 1957. “Can’t” was the third #1 song for the performer and his last on the pop chart. His last top 40 single as a solo artist came in 1971, though he last made the Hot 100 in 1990. His posthumous 2004 duets album, Genius Loves Company, hit #1 on the album chart and won Album Of The Year at the GRAMMY Awards.

“Stop! In The Name Of Love”, Diana Ross and The Supremes (#1, 1965)
When you’re hot, you’re hot, and this classic trio definitely was in the year 1965. “Name” was the fourth #1 single in a row for the group, following “Where Did Our Love Go?”, “Baby Love” and “Come See About Me”. It would spend two weeks on top of the Hot 100. They ended with twelve shortly before Diana Ross left the group, although they managed to keep cranking out music with a revolving lineup through 1976.

“Bus Stop”, The Hollies (#5, 1966)
Though they quickly attained success in Europe, pop group The Hollies waited several years before their first top ten hit in the U.S. came in September 1966. Stopping seemed to be their thing because in December of the same year, their followup called “Stop Stop Stop” went to #7. During a 1983 reunion, their cover of “Stop! In The Name Of Love” went to #30. They haven’t stopped yet as they remain together.

“Don’t Stop”, Fleetwood Mac (#3, 1977)
Former President Bill Clinton may have drilled it into our heads from using this in his presidential campaigns, but back in 1977, Fleetwood Mac made “Don’t” a hit in its own right from the landmark release Rumours. Going to #3, it was the third consecutive top ten single from the album, followed by the #9 “You Make Loving Fun”, which established a then-record for the most top ten songs from one studio album.

“I Just Wanna Stop”, Gino Vannelli (#4, 1978)
After first hitting the top 40 in 1974 with “People Gotta Move”, Montreal-born Vannelli achieved much greater success with this ballad from his album Brother To Brother. It rose to #4 late into 1978, becoming his first of two top ten singles (the second coming in 1981) and biggest hit to date. He had a handful of minor singles reach the Hot 100 through 1987 and continued charting in his native Canada into the 1990’s.

“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, Michael Jackson (#1, 1979)
The first of two Jackson songs on the list was a hot disco record from his first release with Epic following his departure from Motown. From his album Off The Wall, “Enough” quickly climbed into the #1 spot, becoming his first solo song to reach the top of the Hot 100 since “Ben” in 1972. The album would provide him with three other top ten hits through 1980 before regrouping with The Jacksons later that year.

“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”, Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (#3, 1981)
In-between albums by Fleetwood Mac, Nicks pursued a solo career with 1981’s Bella Donna, which eventually went to the top spot on the album chart. The first single from it was this collaboration with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, which remains her biggest solo song to make the Hot 100 to date. She and Petty would also collaborate on a 1986 live remake of the song “Needles And Pins”, which peaked at #37.

“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, Starship (#1, 1987)Mannequin was big at the box office in the spring of 1987 and so was the theme song from it. “Now” became the final of three #1 singles for Starship, which at the time established a record for member Grace Slick as the oldest woman to have a #1 single at age 47. (That has since been passed by Cher, when she hit #1 with 1999’s “Believe” at age 53.) The group last made the top 40 in 1989 and the Hot 100 in 1991.

“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, Michael Jackson with Siedah Garrett (#1, 1987)
After the massive success of his 1982 album Thriller, how could Michael Jackson follow it up? Well, five years later came Bad, and this was the first single from it. The romantic ballad shot straight into the Hot 100’s top 40 with a debut at #37 during the week of August 8, 1987, climbing to #1 six weeks later for one week. It was the first of five #1 singles from the album, which was certified 9x Platinum this past spring.

“Can’t Stop This Thing We Started”, Bryan Adams (#2, 1991)
The summer of 1991 was all Bryan Adams as the Canadian singer dominated with his chart-topper, “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”. Following that monster single was this notable change in direction into a rock sound, which hit the top ten in at least a dozen countries, including the United States. Parent album Waking Up The Neighbours was also a big seller, going 4x Platinum. Adams continues to record today.

“Don’t Stop The Music”, Rihanna (#3, 2008)
Back in 2008, this Barbadian beauty was just beginning her journey as a Good Girl Gone Bad. Interpolating “Soul Makossa” by Manu Dibango (also prominently featured in “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” by Michael Jackson), the song became another big hit for the singer, going to #3 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Dance/Club Play chart. Her current release is “Right Now”, featuring producer David Guetta.

For more on the stop and go of the pop music flow, follow the blog below and find me on Twitter: @AdamFSoybel.

Swedish House Mafia finally have their first big hit in the States as “Don’t You Worry Child”, featuring vocalist John Martin, sits at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Though this may be the only time the group charts together (they’re currently on a farewell tour), they’ve it done with a song that becomes the first top ten title since the 90’s to feature the word “child” in it.

In total, 59 song titles with the word “child” (or some variation like “children”) in them have made the Hot 100 since it began in 1958, 27 of those making the top 40. The first of them, in early 1959, was “The Children’s Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)” by Cyril Stapleton and His Orchestra, which was quickly followed by a version from Mitch Miller and his “Sing Along With Mitch” Chorus. The Stapleton version rose to #13 and the Miller version got to #16.

Just eleven of those nearly sixty top-40 hits made it into the top ten. Here are the other ten besides “Worry”:

“Little Children”, Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas (#7, 1964)
This English band came to the States as a part of the British Invasion in 1964 and launched four songs into the top 40, this one being the biggest. After two additional Hot 100 singles in 1965, the group experienced several membership changes and ultimately folded several years later. They’ve reunited since, but haven’t charted again.

“Love Child”, Diana Ross & The Supremes (#1, 1968)
Girl groups don’t come bigger than this. In just about five years, they accumulated twelve #1 singles on the Hot 100, this two-week topper being the eleventh of them. Ross departed the group roughly a year after this single and they had several years of top-40 hits without her, including two top tens. Ross, of course, did quite a bit better, with six additional #1 hits on her own. Dance group Sweet Sensation took their version onto the charts in 1990, just missing the top ten with a peak of #13.

“Runaway Child, Running Wild”, The Temptations (#6, 1969)
Another of Motown’s biggest acts makes the list with this single, which also spent two weeks at #1 on the R&B chart in March. All five members sang lead on the song. The quintet scored Hot 100 and R&B hits for several decades to come, including songs like the #1 “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”.

“O-O-H Child”, The Five Stairsteps (#8, 1970)
After years of top-40 misses, this song from the Chicago group featuring the Burke siblings cracked the top ten during the summertime. They made the Hot 100 several other times after this song hit, but nothing placed within the top 40. A remake by Dino in 1993 hit the top ten in CHR airplay, but managed a lower #27 on the Hot 100. One other cover, done by Daryl Hall and John Oates, became a minor adult contemporary hit in 2005.

“Mother And Child Reunion”, Paul Simon (#4, 1972)
After his partnership with Art Garfunkel dissolved in 1970, Simon began his string of solo successes with this first hit, which also made the top 5 in countries like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Simon would soon eclipse this solo peak with bigger entries like his only #1, 1976’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”.

“Hot Child In The City”, Nick Gilder (#1, 1978)
English-born, Canadian-raised Gilder only made the top-40 once in the States with this #1 hit. He scored several other big singles in Canada, including a #1 with his former group Sweeney Todd, “Roxy Roller”, in 1976.

“Sweet Child O’ Mine”, Guns N’ Roses (#1, 1988)Axl Rose and the boys garnered their first and only chart-topper with their first single to make the Hot 100, spending two weeks at #1 in September. The Los Angeles band took five other songs into the top ten through 1992. Their long-awaited Chinese Democracy album was finally released in 2008 and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame just last year.

“When The Children Cry”, White Lion (#3, 1989)
This ballad was the second and final top-40 hit for this rock band from Denmark, placing just behind songs from Paula Abdul and Sheriff. The first, “Wait”, hit the top ten the previous year. They continued to make the Billboard 200 album chart in the U.S. until 1991.

“This One’s For The Children”, New Kids On The Block (#7, 1989)
In 1989, one of the biggest bands out of Boston managed to place six songs in the top 40, all within that one chart year. This was the last of them, from the album Merry, Merry Christmas, and appropriately peaked during the week of Christmas. NKOTB managed two other top ten hits after this, then broke up in 1994 and experienced a successful reunion in 2008. They release a new studio album, 10, in April.

“Jesus To A Child”, George Michael (#7, 1996)
From his album Older, the single marked a major comeback for Michael, his first top ten hit in four years on the Hot 100. Followup single “Fastlove” would be his last single to make the Hot 100, peaking at #8, though he’s had a top-40 single in the United Kingdom as recent as last year.

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